Online service providers are constantly offering new services and upgrading existing services to enhance their users' online experience. Users have on-demand access to news, weather, financial, sports, and entertainment services as well as the ability to transmit electronic messages and to participate in online discussion groups. For example, users of online service providers such as America Online or CompuServe may view and retrieve information on a wide variety of topics from servers located throughout the world. A server may be maintained by the service provider or by a third party provider who makes information and services available through the worldwide network of computers that make up the online service.
Online service providers facilitate access to information and services by providing interactive UIs (User Interfaces) that help users navigate to desired resources. UIs often take advantage of the graphics capabilities of a user's computer and eliminate the need to type in text commands. Generally, a UI allows a user to simply select screen objects such as icons, windows, and drop-down menus to execute particular commands or to link to certain locations. The design of a UI is very important to a user's online experience. In particular, the icons, windows, and menus of a UI must be arranged to enable a user to locate preferred information and services quickly and easily.